VENICE, Fla. — Gunther Gebel-Williams, the circus trainer whose showmanship and uncanny rapport with animals delighted children of all ages with the Greatest Show on Earth, has died of cancer. He was 66.
The German-born Gebel-Williams, who died at his home Thursday, never missed a performance during his 21-year career in the ring with Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus.
His flashy style and flowing gold hair made him arguably the most famous circus performer in the world of the 1970s and '80s.
"Tiger training is like race car driving, like boxing," he said when he announced his plans to retire. "You have to be really on top all the time. It's not possible to feel not so good one day. There has to be the time to say, that's it."
"Every show is always a risk for me," he said. "How long can you take that? There are always young tigers."
In addition to working the center ring with the circus, he was featured in TV specials and advertisements. He once made an American Express commercial which showed him with his favorite leopard, Kenny, draped across his shoulders.
"Whether he was working with tigers, leopards, elephants, horses or a giraffe, you immediately knew that he was special because his incredible rapport with animals was unsurpassed," said Kenneth Feld, chairman of Feld Entertainment, which operates the circus.
While he largely retired, he occasionally filled in for his son, Mark Oliver, who followed him as a star trainer.
At his final regular performance, the circus unfurled banners shouting, "Gunther," and life-size posters of the man humbly billed as the "Golden Gladiator," "Teutonic Tiger Trainer," "Caesar of the Circus" and "Lord of the Rings."
Eighteen elephants reared back and formed a line, each animal with its front legs on another's back.
Training and performing was often dangerous, and his body was covered with scars — bearing more than 500 stitches. Once, when asked about them at a news conference, Gebel-Williams quickly flung off his jacket, unbuttoned his shirt and rolled up his sleeves to show evidence of several near-fatal scrapes.
He performed in the giant steel cage for the last time in Grand Rapids, Mich., on Sept. 27, 1998, when he filled in for his son. He also had the title of vice president of animal welfare for the circus, overseeing about 400 animals.
Gebel-Williams, born in Schweidnitz, Germany, in 1934, was introduced to circus life at 12 when his mother joined Circus Williams as a wardrobe assistant.
He learned how to work with animals from circus owner Harry Williams. He took over management of the popular German circus upon Williams' death.
In 1968, Ringling Bros.' owner Irvin Feld acquired Circus Williams to get the talented performer. Gebel-Williams became a quick hit with American audiences.
Gebel-Williams underwent surgery to remove a brain tumor last July. Sigrid Gebel-Williams said her husband realized something was wrong when he lost his peripheral vision during a training session with two tigers. He felt dizzy and weak and walked into one of them.
"Respect is the foundation of my training style," he once said. "I worked with tigers as a trainer, never a tamer. ... I did not use brutality. To train my animals I used words, always words."